Litigation in the Inter-American System

Mexico should guarantee that its judicial system does not take into account evidence obtained through torture

San Jose, February 14, 2014. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention informed the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) that it issued an official opinion in which it considers the almost 16 year imprisonment of the indigenous Mexicans, Juan García Cruz and Santiago Sánchez Silvestre, as arbitrary detention and contrary to the international obligations of the State of Mexico.

Fri, 02/14/2014

San Jose, February 14, 2014. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention informed the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) that it issued an official opinion in which it considers the almost 16 year imprisonment of the indigenous Mexicans, Juan García Cruz and Santiago Sánchez Silvestre, as arbitrary detention and contrary to the international obligations of the State of Mexico.

In 1997, García Cruz and Sánchez were detained and accused of pertaining to the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) as well as having participated in an attack against the police. The only evidence to link them to the crimes was their confessions obtained during torture. Nevertheless, both persons remained deprived of their liberty until April 18, 2013.

The Working Group considered that the initial detention of Mr. García Cruz and Mr. Sánchez Silvestre (by the police and the Public Prosecutor) was arbitrary for not having a justified legal basis. Likewise, the Working Group determined that the imprisonment from June 11, 1997 to April 18, 2013, was arbitrary for not observing the international norms of due process.

The Working Group’s decision was taken as a result of the information presented by Legal Services, Legal Information and Studies (Información y Estudios Jurídicos, SLIEJ), and CEJIL in November 2011. The group highlighted that the Mexican government did not respond to their requests for information.

The Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IA Court) was recently familiarized with Mr. García Cruz and Mr. Sánchez Silvestre’s case, approving an agreement for a friendly settlement and issuing its judgment on November 26, 2013. In the agreement, the Mexican state accepted its international responsibility for the human rights violations suffered by the victims and committed itself to adequately repair the damages as well as prevent similar situations from repeating.

“We celebrate the Working Group’s recommendations and have faith that the Mexican authorities will comply with them, as well as with the promises they made by signing the friendly settlement agreement before the Inter-American Court. It is particularly necessary that the Mexican State reviews the evidentiary value that is given to confessions made before the Public Prosecutor and that the Supreme Court of Justice reverses its doctrine of procedural immediacy that gives priority to the first declarations made by the defendants, even though, as in this case, the confessions were obtained through torture,” noted Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director of CEJIL.

International responsibility establishes the maximum guarantee of protection for this right in any circumstance

San José, Tuesday, February 4, 2014. Tuesday concluded the second day of the hearing on the Case of Nicolás Cruz Sánchez et al. v. Peru. CEJIL and the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH) from Peru appeared before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IA Court) to establish the State’s international responsibility for the extrajudicial executions of Eduardo Nicolás Cruz Sánchez, Herma Luz Meléndez Cueva and Víctor Salomón Peceros Pedraza. The victims were former members of the Revolutionary Movement Túpac Amaru (MRTA) who were executed after the Chavín de Huántar military operation.

Tue, 02/04/2014

San José, Tuesday, February 4, 2014. Tuesday concluded the second day of the hearing on the Case of Nicolás Cruz Sánchez et al. v. Peru. CEJIL and the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH) from Peru appeared before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IA Court) to establish the State’s international responsibility for the extrajudicial executions of Eduardo Nicolás Cruz Sánchez, Herma Luz Meléndez Cueva and Víctor Salomón Peceros Pedraza. The victims were former members of the Revolutionary Movement Túpac Amaru (MRTA) who were executed after the Chavín de Huántar military operation.

Viviana Krsticevic, CEJIL’s director, stated that, “the submission of this case before the Court does not intend to question the State’s right and obligation in adopting measures for the hostages’ rescue, which may include the use of force, as long as the human rights of the persons involved are respected.” Likewise, this case does not question Operation Chavín de Huántar as a whole, since it allowed the liberation of the hostages. The submission of this case is limited to request the establishment of the State’s international responsibility for the three victims’ executions, former MRTA members, who had deposed their weapons once the military operation was concluded.

At the beginning of the hearing, the president of the IA Court, Humberto Sierra Porto, emphasized that the tribunal’s competence is not to establish individual responsibilities, which fall under the jurisdiction of internal criminal courts, but to establish the State’s international responsibility when it is appropriate.

On the other hand, the president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated that the Commission calls attention to the importance of protecting human rights and humanitarian law principles accepted by the international community, as minimums that set limitations to the use of force. He also emphasized that the case presents in effect, the most basic guarantees from which every person is subject to, including combatants.

Gloria Cano, APRODEH’s Executive Director, stated that, “we do not question, actually, we regret the suffering to which the hostages were exposed to, who are represented in this hearing by Judge Hugo Sivina Hurtado and remained kidnapped by armed persons acting outside the margin of the law.”

The representatives present evidence that demonstrates, without any doubt, that Víctor Peceros Pedraza, Herma Luz Meléndez Cueva and Eduardo Nicolás Cruz Sánchez were captured alive and executed after they deposed their weapons. In addition, they demonstrate that these serious acts remain in impunity.

The victims’ representatives call this case to the IA Court’s attention, since it brings the opportunity to develop its jurisprudence related to the protection of people who are in an emergency situation or armed conflict where the State sees the necessity to use lethal force.

San José, Costa Rica; Monday, February 3, 2014- The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) along with partner organizations will represent victims of human rights violations from the Americas before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IA Court) in its 102 period of ordinary sessions.

Mon, 02/03/2014

San José, Costa Rica; Monday, February 3, 2014- The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) along with partner organizations will represent victims of human rights violations from the Americas before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IA Court) in its 102 period of ordinary sessions.

CEJIL and the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos del Perú (APRODEH) will appear before the IA Court to establish the international responsibility of the State for the extrajudicial executions of Eduardo Nicolás Cruz Sánchez, Herma Luz Meléndez Cueva and Víctor Salomón Peceros Pedraza, members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) who were executed after the Chavín de Huántar military operation.

Likewise, this case refers to the continual impunity of the grave events that have generated violations against the victims’ family members. The operation resulted in the rescue of the hostages taken captive by the MRTA at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence in Lima from December 17, 1996, to April 22, 1997.

The submission of this case before the Court is not intended to question the right or the obligation of the State to adopt measures for rescuing the hostages, which may include the use of force, as long as the human rights of those involved are respected. Likewise, the case does not question the Operation Chavín de Huántar as a whole, since it allowed liberation of the hostages. The submission of this case is limited to solicit the State to take international responsibility for the execution of the three victims, members of the MRTA, who had deposed their weapons once the operation was concluded.

CEJIL, the Comisión de Derechos Humanos de Justicia y Paz del Estado Aragua, and the Vicaría Episcopal de Derechos Humanos de Caracas, in representation of the Landaeta Family, will solicit the IA Court to establish the international responsibility of the State for the extrajudicial executions of Igmar Alexander and Eduardo José Landaeta Mejías. The brothers were killed by Araguan State police agents in Venezuela.

In 1996, with a difference of one month’s time, brothers Igmar Alexander and Eduardo José Landaeta were extrajudicially executed. Their deaths took place in two episodes involving the participation of police agents from the Aragua state in Venezuela; the events date back to a period in which a pattern of extrajudicial killings were committed by state police agents in the state of Aragua, Venezuela.

Igmar Alexander’s death was presented as a confrontation by the police, while the execution of Eduardo José, who was only 18 years old, took place while he was under police custody. Both episodes occurred within a much more general context of extrajudicial executions committed by state police agents in Venezuela.

Private hearings on monitoring the compliance with judgments and provisional measures:

CEJIL and the Instituto de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” (IDHUCA), in representation of the victims of the case, will participate in a hearing that will analyze the State’s compliance with the judgment and current measures of protection ordered by the IA Court in its judgment.

The hearing will analyze whether the Salvadoran State has conducted an investigation on the death of Mauricio García Prieto. The hearing will also examine the threats and acts of harassment suffered by the victim’s parents, José Mauricio García Prieto Hirlemann and Gloria Giralt de García Prieto, through their search for justice. Additionally, the hearing will serve to assess the medical attention given to the victims that was ordered by the IA Court.

Ramón Mauricio was killed June 10, 1994, by two unidentified individuals. His death occurred in a context of political violence which involved the so called “squadrons of death” (escuadrones de la muerte). To this day neither Ramón Mauricio’s death nor the threats suffered by his parents have been clarified; the case remains in impunity.

CEJIL and the Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo (CCAJAR), in representation of the victims in the case of the Rochela and the beneficiaries of provisional measures, will participate in a hearing monitoring the compliance of the Judgement emitted by the Court in 2007. The hearing will also analyze the compliance with the measures of protection ordered by the Tribunal in 2009.

In January of 1989, a paramilitary group kidnapped a commission of 15 judiciary officers in the Rochela community. The commission functioned to investigate the civilian and military responsibility in various massacres committed in the Magdalena Medio zone. The paramilitaries shot at the group, killing 12 and injuring the other three. In this occasion, the IA Court will analyze the existing impunity in respect to the violations committed against the victims and their families. It will also assess the grave risk situation which still persists in relation to the people that try to propel the investigations against the perpetrators and masterminds, including members of the paramilitary groups as well as of the Public Force. Both hearings of compliance seek that the involved States comply with the outstanding points of the sentences dictated by the IA Court.

Due to persistent, flagrant violations of international law, 155 men remain detained today

Washington, DC, Saturday, January 11, 2014.- Today, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) joined a multitude of civil society organizations and peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C., in demanding the immediate closure of the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo, in compliance with its human rights obligations.

“Since we first obtained precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission in 2002, Guantanamo has become a symbol of grave breaches of international law in the fight against terrorism,” said Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director of the Center for Justice and International Law. “Justice delayed is justice denied, and the United States has delayed twelve years too long in finally fulfilling its international obligations.”

Sat, 01/11/2014

Washington, DC, Saturday, January 11, 2014.- Today, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) joined a multitude of civil society organizations and peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C., in demanding the immediate closure of the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo, in compliance with its human rights obligations.

“Since we first obtained precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission in 2002, Guantanamo has become a symbol of grave breaches of international law in the fight against terrorism,” said Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director of the Center for Justice and International Law. “Justice delayed is justice denied, and the United States has delayed twelve years too long in finally fulfilling its international obligations.”

As 155 men remain arbitrarily detained and Guantanamo begins its 13th year of operations, the United States still has not complied with its duty under human rights law to determine the legal basis for the men’s detention by a competent tribunal and try or release all detainees in accordance with international law; to investigate, prosecute and punish all instances of torture and ill-treatment; and to refrain from sending detainees to countries where they may be at risk of torture.

The United States government’s repeated failure to comply with these obligations was evidenced in resolutions in 2006 and 2011 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), among other international human rights bodies, finding that the State had caused irreparable harm to the detainees, and ordering the detention center’s immediate closure.

On May 1, 2013, as a mass hunger strike threatened the lives and well-being of the detainees, the IACHR issued a Joint Declaration together with the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the UN Special Rapporteur on countering terrorism, the UN Special Rapporteur on health, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, emphatically reiterating the need to “adopt concrete measures to end the indefinite detention of persons; provide for their release or prosecution, in accordance with due process and the principles and standards of international human rights law; allow for independent monitoring by international human rights bodies; and close the detention center at the Guantánamo Naval Base".

Ameziane is the first detainee in the history of Guantanamo protected by an international human rights body

Washington, DC, Thursday, December 19, 2013.- This Thursday the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) strongly condemned the forcible transfer of Djamel Ameziane from Guantanamo to Algeria in contravention of precautionary measuresordered on his behalf.

The Center for Justice and International Law represents Ameziane, the first Guantanamo detainee whose case was admitted before an international human rights body.

Thu, 12/19/2013

Washington, DC, Thursday, December 19, 2013.- This Thursday the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) strongly condemned the forcible transfer of Djamel Ameziane from Guantanamo to Algeria in contravention of precautionary measuresordered on his behalf.

The Center for Justice and International Law represents Ameziane, the first Guantanamo detainee whose case was admitted before an international human rights body.

“In 2008, when we first requested international protection for Djamel Ameziane, the Commission issued precautionary measures that prohibit his transfer to Algeria, where he could face torture or persecution,” said Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director of the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL). “After our clients forcible transfer, today the Inter-American Commission has made it clear that the United States must be held accountable for this flagrant violation of international law.”

On December 5, 2013, the United States government had anounced that it forcibly transferred Djamel Ameziane from Guantanamo to the Algerian government, this despite his well-founded fear of persecution or torture in his native country.

Since 2008, when CEJIL requested international protection for Djamel, the Inter-American Commission had ordered the State not to return him to Algeria through precautionary measures -- an international injunction – ordered in his favor. The United States government has deliberately violated this order.

CEJIL, together with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), were able to present his petition five years ago and, in 2012, Djamel Ameziane was the first Guantanamo detainee whose case was accepted by an international human rights body.

The IACHR emphasized, in its press release: “The forced transfer of Djamel Ameziane to Algeria is in violation of the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits transfers and deportations of individuals to countries where they may run the risk of being tortured. Moreover, with this transfer the United States disregarded precautionary measures 211/08 and 259/02 of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.”

In a joint statement, the United Nations special rapporteurs on torture and counter-terrorism expressed Deep concern that “the life of Mr. Ameziane could be in danger in Algeria” and decried the United States’ violation of its non-refoulement obligations – not to return people to places where their lives or enjoyment of human rights could be threatened.

Washington, DC, Thursday, December 5, 2013.- Today the United States Government announced that it has transferred Djamel Ameziane from Guantánamo to Algeria despite his well-founded fear of persecution or torture in his home country, in direct contravention of precautionary measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

“Since 2008, the Inter-American Commission has ordered the State not to send him to Algeria, where he risks torture or persecution,” said Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director of the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL). “The United States Government’s forcible transfer of Djamel Ameziane to Algeria is a blatant breach of international law, for which the State must be held accountable.”

Thu, 12/05/2013

Washington, DC, Thursday, December 5, 2013.- Today the United States Government announced that it has transferred Djamel Ameziane from Guantánamo to Algeria despite his well-founded fear of persecution or torture in his home country, in direct contravention of precautionary measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

“Since 2008, the Inter-American Commission has ordered the State not to send him to Algeria, where he risks torture or persecution,” said Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director of the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL). “The United States Government’s forcible transfer of Djamel Ameziane to Algeria is a blatant breach of international law, for which the State must be held accountable.”

CEJIL and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), brought Djamel Ameziane’s case to the IACHR in 2008. In 2008, the IACHR issued precautionary measures – still in force – prohibiting the United States from sending Mr. Ameziane to Algeria. In 2012, Djamel’s petition was declared admissible by the IACHR, making it the leading international case on the Guantánamo detention center.

Djamel Ameziane is a college graduate fluent in multiple languages, who fled Algeria in the early 1990s to escape the civil war. Fearing persecution based on his minority, Berber ethnicity, he sought refuge outside Algeria, living legally in Vienna, Austria and Montreal, Canada. When he was ultimately denied permanent refuge, and fearing torture or persecution in Algeria, he fled to Afghanistan in 2001. After the U.S. invasion, he fled toward Pakistan but was captured and sold by Pakistanis to U.S. forces, who sent him to Guantánamo in February 2002. Despite the fact that no charges were made against him, and that the United States military admitted in 2008 that his detention no longer served any purpose, he was arbitrarily detained in Guantánamo for nearly 12 years without charge or trial.

“This forcible transfer only compounds the years of suffering and injustice that Djamel Ameziane has already faced in Guantánamo,” said Viviana Krsticevic.

San Salvador, Monday, December 2, 2013. Last Friday various organizations presented an international denunciation before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the State of El Salvador for the human rights violations suffered by Beatriz.

Beatriz, a 23 year old Salvadoran, who suffers from systematic lupus erythematous exacerbated by lupus nephritis and rheumatoid arthritis, became pregnant at the end of 2012. Through medical exams, the fetus was diagnosed with anencephaly.

Wed, 12/04/2013

San Salvador, Monday, December 2, 2013. Last Friday various organizations presented an international denunciation before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the State of El Salvador for the human rights violations suffered by Beatriz.

Beatriz, a 23 year old Salvadoran, who suffers from systematic lupus erythematous exacerbated by lupus nephritis and rheumatoid arthritis, became pregnant at the end of 2012. Through medical exams, the fetus was diagnosed with anencephaly.

This past March, due to Beatriz’s health condition, the treating physicians in the public health system recommended to interrupt the pregnancy since her health was at risk. However, the doctors did not perform the procedure in fear of being criminally punished. This prolonged the pregnancy to the 26th week of pregnancy. This caused an unnecessary increase of suffering and risks to Beatriz’s health and life.

No public authority in the country ruled in favor of Beatriz’s rights. Only under the provisional measures of protection granted by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IA Court) did the Minister of Health proceed to perform a cesarean on June 3rd. The clinical prognosis of the inviability of the fetus outside the womb was confirmed when the fetus died as a new born just five hours after the medical intervention.

El Salvador is one of the seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean where abortion is absolutely prohibited without exceptions for extreme circumstances of risk to the health or life of the woman, inviability of the fetus, or pregnancy as a consequence of rape.

Beatriz’s story reflects the consequences of absolute penalty of abortion and the institutional violence that is exercised against the life of Salvadoran girls, young adults, and women. According to data collected by the Agrupación Ciudadana por la Despenalización del Aborto Terapéutico, Ético y Eugenésico between January of 2000 and March of 2011, a total of 129 women have been prosecuted in El Salvador for crimes of abortion or aggravated homicide. The penalties range between two and forty years in prison; currently, at least thirty women are deprived of liberty for these causes, the majority of which had suffered miscarriages for a variety of obstetric complications.

In relation to the legal restrictions placed on abortion, Dr. Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, affirmed in his 2011 report, “that the creation or the maintenance of criminal laws that criminalize abortion creates and perpetuates the conditions of unsafe, inappropriate, and risky abortions and can result in the violations of the obligations of the States in respecting, protecting, and fulfilling the right to health.”

In the experience lived by Beatriz, the petitioning organizations sustain that the State of El Salvador is responsible for multiple human rights violations suffered by Beatriz, which are found to be protected by the American Convention on Human Rights, the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, and Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women.

The objective of this denunciation is to integrally repair the damages suffered by Beatriz and to order the Salvadoran State to modify its internal regulations to full guarantee women, among other rights, the right to health, personal liberty, reproductive rights and the right to effective judicial protection.

As part of the demand the organizations have launched the campaign, “Yo apoyo la demanda de Beatriz, porque me importa salvar la vida de las mujeres” (“I support Beatriz’s demand because it is important to me to save the life of women”). The campaign will be shared through several media outlets starting today and will continue until December 10th, the International Day of Human Rights. We are calling on the general public to express support for Beatriz by sharing the logo and the campaign slogan and by sending messages in reference to the issue.

San José, Monday 18 November, 2013. This Monday, the Mexican State recognized its international responsibility for the illegal detention and torture of Juan García Cruz and Santiago Sánchez Silvestre, as well as for their subsequent convictions in two irregular processes which used confessions extracted under torture. Furthermore, the State accepted its responsibility for the failure to investigate allegations of torture.

This recognition of responsibility is consequence of a dialogue process which began in August of the present year, and concluded this Monday with the signing of a Friendly Settlement.

Mon, 11/18/2013

San José, Monday 18 November, 2013. This Monday, the Mexican State recognized its international responsibility for the illegal detention and torture of Juan García Cruz and Santiago Sánchez Silvestre, as well as for their subsequent convictions in two irregular processes which used confessions extracted under torture. Furthermore, the State accepted its responsibility for the failure to investigate allegations of torture.

This recognition of responsibility is consequence of a dialogue process which began in August of the present year, and concluded this Monday with the signing of a Friendly Settlement. As part of this agreement, the Mexican authorities are committed to providing integral reparations for the damage caused to the victims, as well as investigating the events surrounding the acts of torture suffered.

Juan García Cruz and Santiago Sánchez Silvestre were arbitrarily detained on June 6, 1997 by State agents. Both suffered physical and psychological torture in the facilities of Mexico City’s police force. They were subjected to torture with the objective of extracting confessions, which would implicate them in crimes which they had not committed.

On the basis of these confessions, they were tried and sentenced to three years for possession of firearms and 40 years for, inter alia, the crimes of homicide. Despite the authorities receiving reports of the torture suffered by these two men, the allegations were never investigated.

The case was denounced before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2000, and was sent to the Inter-American Court in 2013. However, on April 18, the victims were released following the declaration of a domestic court that their confessions had been obtained under torture, and that the trial was plagued with irregularities. In total, Juan and Santiago spent 15 years in prison.

In the agreement signed today, the Mexican State acknowledges its responsibility for the violation of the rights to personal liberty, to humane treatment, to a fair trial, and to judicial protection, rights enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights. Furthermore, the State recognized the violation of various articles of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Sanction Torture.

The organizations Servicios Legales e Investigación y Estudios Jurídicos (SLIEJ), Abogadas y Abogados para la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos (AJDH), and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) applaud the Mexican authorities for their willingness to recognize the human rights violations committed against Juan and Santiago. Similarly, they celebrate the commitment the State assumed to provide reparations for damage caused, and to avoid the repetition of events of this nature being repeated in Mexico.

For more information:

Daniela Araya

Communications Officer

CEJIL

daraya@cejil.org

(506) 2280-7473 / 506 8820-8588

San José, Monday 18 November, 2013. This Monday, the Mexican State recognized its international responsibility for the illegal detention and torture of Juan García Cruz and Santiago Sánchez Silvestre, as well as for their subsequent convictions in two irregular processes which used confessions extracted under torture. Furthermore, the State accepted its responsibility for the failure to investigate allegations of torture.

This recognition of responsibility is consequence of a dialogue process which began in August of the present year, and concluded this Monday with the signing of a Friendly Settlement. As part of this agreement, the Mexican authorities are committed to providing integral reparations for the damage caused to the victims, as well as investigating the events surrounding the acts of torture suffered.

Juan García Cruz and Santiago Sánchez Silvestre were arbitrarily detained on June 6, 1997 by State agents. Both suffered physical and psychological torture in the facilities of Mexico City’s police force. They were subjected to torture with the objective of extracting confessions, which would implicate them in crimes which they had not committed.

On the basis of these confessions, they were tried and sentenced to three years for possession of firearms and 40 years for, inter alia, the crimes of homicide. Despite the authorities receiving reports of the torture suffered by these two men, the allegations were never investigated.

The case was denounced before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2000, and was sent to the Inter-American Court in 2013. However, on April 18, the victims were released following the declaration of a domestic court that their confessions had been obtained under torture, and that the trial was plagued with irregularities. In total, Juan and Santiago spent 15 years in prison.

In the agreement signed today, the Mexican State acknowledges its responsibility for the violation of the rights to personal liberty, to humane treatment, to a fair trial, and to judicial protection, rights enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights. Furthermore, the State recognized the violation of various articles of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Sanction Torture.

The organizations Servicios Legales e Investigación y Estudios Jurídicos (SLIEJ), Abogadas y Abogados para la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos (AJDH), and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) applaud the Mexican authorities for their willingness to recognize the human rights violations committed against Juan and Santiago. Similarly, they celebrate the commitment the State assumed to provide reparations for damage caused, and to avoid events of this nature being repeated in Mexico.

Of the 25 States with the highest rate of femicide/feminicide in the world, 14 are regional nations

Washington DC, October 28, 2013 – The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM), the Inter-American Platform for Human Rights, Development, and Democracy (PIDHDD), the Red de Mujeres Afrolatinoamericanas, Afrocaribeñas y de la Diáspora, Coordinadora del Enlace Continental de Mujeres Indígenas and the Observatorio Ciudadano Nacional de Femicidio de México denounced violence against women in a thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Particular emphasis was placed on femicide, one of the gravest expressions of violence against women. Femicide/feminicide is considered to be the assassination of a woman for her gender.

Tue, 10/29/2013

Washington DC, October 28, 2013 – The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM), the Inter-American Platform for Human Rights, Development, and Democracy (PIDHDD), the Red de Mujeres Afrolatinoamericanas, Afrocaribeñas y de la Diáspora, Coordinadora del Enlace Continental de Mujeres Indígenas and the Observatorio Ciudadano Nacional de Femicidio de México denounced violence against women in a thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Particular emphasis was placed on femicide, one of the gravest expressions of violence against women. Femicide/feminicide is considered to be the assassination of a woman for her gender.

According to the United Nations Report on the Regulation of the crime of Feminicide/Femicide in Latin America and the Caribbean, of the 25 States with the highest rates of murder in the world, 14 are from the region. Those with the highest rates are El Salvador, Jamaica, and Guatemala.

In spite of this alarming reality, to date regional States have not adopted measures effective for addressing this problem. Only 10 of the region’s nations have included femicide/feminicide as a criminal offense (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru, Honduras, Bolivia, and Panama). Furthermore, some of the adopted regulations present flaws; in their concept of femicide/feminicide, they exclude acts that should be considered as such, and others result in a definition that is too broad for effective application.

Guadalupe Ramos from CLADEM indicated that, “a separate criminal classification for femicide/feminicide is necessary as the criminal classification of homicide makes invisible the causes and the characteristics of the murder of women. In making them visible by means of a specific criminal offense, it is possible to identify the special necessities for the protection of women as well as the public policies that must be adopted by the State to do so.”

Furthermore, no effective public policy exists in the region that addresses, in an integral manner, the femicide/feminicide problem. CEJIL’s Gisela De León added that: “the criminal response should be accompanied by policies aimed at tackling causes of femicide/feminicide. This will only be achieved when reliable data is available that correlates with the magnitude, characteristics, and origins of the problem.”

The petitioners drew the attention of the IACHR to the severity of this problem, with the objective of ensuring that the Commission continues to contribute to the fight against violence against women, particularly in light of the anniversary of the Belém Do Pará Convention next year. The petitioners asserted that the present challenge is to ensure the transition from the legislation to the adoption of effective public policies which can put an end this pandemic. This is a process where the Commission’s contribution is key.

The subject of the hearing will be the violations committed against the 12 forcibly disappeared, 4 tortured, and the victim of extrajudicial execution

Brasilia, Monday November 11, 2013 – This Tuesday, in a public hearing before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court), the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), el Colectivo de Abogados José Alvéar Restrepo (CCAJAR), the Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz, and the attorneys Jorge Molano and Germán Romero, will defend the victims of grave human rights violations perpetrated by the Colombian Armed Forces during the operation to recapture the Palace of Justice.

Tue, 11/12/2013

Brasilia, Monday November 11, 2013 – This Tuesday, in a public hearing before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court), the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), el Colectivo de Abogados José Alvéar Restrepo (CCAJAR), the Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz, and the attorneys Jorge Molano and Germán Romero, will defend the victims of grave human rights violations perpetrated by the Colombian Armed Forces during the operation to recapture the Palace of Justice.

The hearing will take place on Tuesday, November 12 and Wednesday, November 13 in the Superior Labor Court in Brasilia, Brazil, with live transmission via the link http://www.corteidh.or.cr/

During the hearing a victim of torture, the brother of one of the disappeared, and the wife of an executed magistrate will give testimony. Additionally, evidence will be presented before the Court by a diverse group of international experts.

The present case relates to the events which occurred on November 6 and 7, 1985, during the siege of the Palace of Justice in Bogota, Colombia, by the guerilla group M-19 and the subsequent counter-siege carried out by the Army. These events led to the forced disappearance of 12 people, four of whom were tortured, and the disappearance and subsequent extrajudicial execution of a magistrate by the Armed Forces.

Following 28 years of waiting, the case was elevated to the highest instance of human rights protection on the continent. The objective of its presentation before the IA Court is to identify the whereabouts of the disappeared, and similarly establish the responsibility of the Colombian State for these human rights violations. The State will carry out a partial recognition of responsibility, which will be responded to during the hearing by the victims and their families.

In the course of the following year, the Court will issue a sentence on the case.